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May 18, 2013 - Closing Ceremony for Walt Disney World

Our Closing Ceremony for Walt Disney World was actually supposed to happen at the France Pavilion since our next stop was Disneyland Paris. But, due to inclement weather, which was a shame because the weather had actually been quite nice for the bulk of the time we were in Florida, our event was moved into the Millennium Village between the United Kingdom and Canada Pavilions.

We walked into the Millennium Village and saw a lovely coffee and desert spread and a beautifully designed room...

Soon, Walt Disney World Ambassador Rich Tamayo came out on stage to start the Closing Ceremony. He brought out Pluto, our Character Ambassador for Walt Disney World, and Mickey Mouse, our Character Ambassador for Disneyland Paris, to pass off the Disney Dreamers Everywhere Passport.

Then, an acapella group came out and sang our Disney Dreamers Everywhere theme song...

I got a video clip of them singing part of the song because I thought they were quite lovely...

And, then, a cake in the shape of the Eiffel Tower was brought out!

And, then, suddenly, the most bizarrely random grouping of characters came out engaging everybody in a dance party! There was French Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Chip 'n' Dale with Clarice, Elvis Stitch and, interestingly, Wilbur, Lewis and Bowler Hat Guy from Meet The Robinsons.

Then, these characters went in and characters from Robin Hood came out with, strangely, Frollo from Hunchback of Notre Dame...

And, after a few minutes, Quasimodo joined them...

Now, sadly...the event devolved into a sort of awkward prom. This was not at the fault of the characters who really did try to engage everybody in the dance party.

It was just that this was not really the crowd for a dance party. Most people were tired and just sitting at tables with a couple of characters awkwardly dancing by themselves in the middle of the room.

Although, I have to admit the sight of Friar Tuck busting a move on the dance floor was quite the sight to see!

And, at one point, we did end up getting up from our tables and doing a conga line...

Then, the final group of characters came out wearing a variety of costumes...

But, the most exciting of them all were Chip 'n' Dale in their Rescue Rangers outfits!

And, with that, our Closing Ceremony was done. As a Closing Ceremony, it was probably my least favorite of them all just because of the dance party theme which are not my cup of tea. But, I always enjoy seeing the characters in different outfits and was super excited to see Chip 'n' Dale

Now, on to my final thoughts on Walt Disney World. Walt Disney World has a special place in my heart because my family would alternate between Disneyland and Walt Disney World on vacations. My first visit to Walt Disney World was when it was only 4 years old. So, I've been going almost its entire history.

And, I love to go back. These times as a child and the family vacations we'd go on with my cousins prompted my cousin and me to buy ownership in the Animal Kingdom Lodge through the Disney Vacation Club.

I am always amazed at the size of the resort, being twice the size of Manhattan. And because of that, the resort has been able to build such amazing parks and hotel resorts. Disney's Animal Kingdom and Epcot are two of my favorite parks in the world.

Admittedly, though, I long for the Walt Disney World of my youth, particularly when it comes to Epcot...more specifically Future World as the World Showcase seems relatively the same. Attractions such as Horizons, Kitchen Kabaret and the original Journey Into Imagination were such staples of my visit. And, while I enjoy several of the new attractions, I miss the old Epcot.

I wish we had had a little more time in the parks than we did, but, at the same time, I was glad to have had the amazing opportunity to have seen as much of Star Wars Weekends as we were able to see. Still, I feel we missed so much and definitely want to try to find a time to come back during that time.